The central bank has been considering changing its foreign exchange reserves so that it is less reliant on the US currency.

“We are looking at anything to start with from 5 to 10 percent of our reserves,” Sanusi said.

But he added: “The dollar and the euro ... are not going to disappear. They are going to remain an important part of our holdings.”

Total reserves currently stand at $32.96 billion, according the bank’s website.

Deputy governor Kingsley Moghalu said recently that the decision to diversify away from the US dollar had been taken before Standard & Poor’s cut the United States’ triple-A credit rating.

Nigeria’s central bank said in January it had added the Chinese yuan to a list of currencies that can be used for trade settlement in the domestic foreign exchange market as trade flows with China increase.

China is encouraging countries to use the yuan for trade and diversify away from the dollar.